Another High-Profile Israeli Appointment Brings More Than 35 Years of Industrial Technology Experience to CIIRDF

OTTAWA, Ontario and TEL AVIV, Israel; December 13, 2017 – The Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (CIIRDF) today announced the appointment of Dr. Ami Appelbaum as a Director of the CIIRDF Board. Dr. Appelbaum is the new Chair of the Israel Innovation Authority and Chief Scientist of Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry.

Within these new leadership roles, and responsible for a budget of NIS $1.6 billion ($452 million), Dr. Appelbaum brings more than three decades of technology and business leadership to bear on programs, policies and incentives established by the Government of Israel to promote industry-led innovation and increase the global competitiveness of the start-up nation.

Prior to his recent appointment with the Israel Innovation Authority, Dr. Appelbaum served as the President of KLA-Tencor Israel, the Israeli subsidiary of a Silicon Valley-headquartered firm that develops semiconductor process control and yield management solutions, for more than seven years. During this time, he led the expansion of the KLA-Tencor sales in Israel from $30 million to $500 million.

Before his role as President, Dr. Appelbaum served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of KLA-Tencor’s Corporate Platform Group and Vice President of Operations of Patterning and Reticle Inspection in Israel, and as the Acting General Manager of the Optical Metrology Division of KLA-Tencor in Silicon Valley, California. He holds a Doctorate and Master’s Degree in Materials Science from the world renowned Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Appelbaum to our binational CIIRDF Board of Directors,” said Dr. Henri Rothschild, President of CIIRDF. “Earlier this year, we welcomed Mr. Aharon Aharon, CEO of the Innovation Authority, as our new Board Chair. The appointment of these two high-profile CIIRDF Board Members by the Government of Israel reinforces the priority and importance of industry-led R&D cooperation with Canada, and the valuable role of CIIRDF in delivering on our shared bilateral objectives. Building on the results achieved by CIIRDF to date, we will facilitate Canada-Israel technology partnerships that deliver even greater economic and social impact in both countries in the days ahead.”

“I have great respect for CIIRDF’s 23-year legacy, and cannot imagine a more exciting time to be joining its Board of Directors,” said Dr. Ami Appelbaum. “Trade between Canada and Israel has more than tripled since the signing of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA). And without a doubt, innovation has played a significant role in developing strong and successful economic and political ties between our two countries. I look forward to working with my colleagues to further advance our goals and strengthen our overall position as a leading instrument for Canadian-Israeli collaborative R&D.”

About the Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (CIIRDF)

The Canada-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (CIIRDF) promotes, stimulates and invests in collaborative research and development between companies in Canada and Israel, with a focus on the commercialization of new technologies. Established in 1994 under a formal treaty between the Governments of Canada and Israel, CIIRDF is connected institutionally with the Israel Innovation Authority (the former Office of the Chief Scientist in Israel’s Ministry of the Economy). CIIRDF has financed more than 120 collaborative R&D projects that have contributed to the joint development and sale of more than 60 new global products. This has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in economic value for Canadian and Israeli companies over the past decade. For additional information, please visit: www.ciirdf.ca

About the Israel Innovation Authority

The Israel Innovation Authority, formerly known as the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Economy (& MATIMOP), is an independent and impartial public entity that operates for the benefit of the Israeli innovation ecosystem and Israeli economy as a whole. Its role is to nurture and develop Israeli innovation resources, while creating and strengthening the infrastructure and framework needed to support the entire knowledge industry. For additional information, please visit: http://www.matimop.org.il/